Pieces of me: Courtney Pine

Courtney Pine, jazz musician Photograph: Helen Valentine/PA

"I was brought up in west London, and this, my first front cover for Wire magazine in 1986, was shot under the flyover in Ladbroke Grove. From this moment everything steamrollered. When I see it, I think 'If only I knew, eh?'” Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

"Jazz is an underground thing — I didn’t realise any jazz musicians were recognised by the palace, apart from Johnny Dankworth and Cleo Laine. Also, my recognition has always been in the popular market — I’ve played Glastonbury’s main stage, for example. So when my manager told me about the OBE, I thought they got the wrong person." Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

"We call this 'Rescue Me'. On tour, it’s our secret ingredient, and when we’re sitting at the table as a band, all you can hear is: 'Pass the Rescue Me'. It works on anything." Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

"This is an offensive item to some, but Liverpool are my team. They’ve given me the highest highs and the lowest lows — there’s no other team like them. I used to be a goalkeeper, but I haven’t played since the 80s: every gig was on a Saturday night, so football had to go." Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

"I came from the hood, so when cheques rolled in, I could buy material goods, like suits that cost £900. I had 38 saxes at one point — now I have 10. I bought this unusual watch in 1990." Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

"This was my first real saxophone practise book. It’s beyond grade eight, and opened up a whole world of expression for me. Every jazz musician has passed through this book." Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

"Customs would water rum down back in the day as it was over-proofed. My first experience of it was in Jamaica at the age of nine. I caught a cold and my grandmother made this concoction of lime and rum and gave me my own little bottle. It’s been strictly medicinal ever since." Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

"In the 80s, I started the Jazz Warriors. This is our second CD, which commemorates the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade by parliament. Afropeans is a word we’re trying to get in the ­dictionary. It means 'of African descent but existing in Europe'. Doesn’t that explain everything?" Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian

"Mac Tonto, trumpet player and leader of the legendary Ghanaian band Osibisa, was the first real musician I met — his son was at my school. At 14, I’d go round and get advice and he’d take me to jam sessions. Five years ago, he invited me to play in Ghana: a dream come true. This is a wooden flute I bought there in a market." Photograph: Frank Baron/Guardian